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Vodafone lets Androiders in on 360

It's all about People

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MWC Vodafone has extended its 360 service to Android users, providing a Vodafone People application that even non-Vodafone customers are welcome to use.

Vodafone reckons that since November last year it's sold 300,000 dedicated 360 handsets, which have Vodafone People integrated into the experience. But the operator wants everyone to share in the glory of Vodafone's online backup and synchronisation service - and now Android users can too.

The application is available for free through the Android Marketplace, and once installed users will be able to consolidate all their online identities with Vodafone.

That consolidation is supposed to be the operator's motivation for providing such a service: the law says you should be allowed to take your mobile-phone number with you, but it makes no such requirement of your other identities. The theory is that once you've consolidated your Facebook, Twitter, Hotmail and so forth into something like Vodafone 360, then you'll be reluctant to switch networks.

Vodafone's service was already available to customers of other network operators through a downloadable Symbian application, but adding Android is a significant step for the operator who clearly sees a future for its application and content stores which extends beyond its mobile customer base, with Vodafone 360 being the best way to get users connected to those services. ®